Olympic medallist and current badminton world champion, PV Sindhu celebrates her 25th birthday on July 5, 2020 (Sunday). Sindhu is the only the second Indian shuttler to win an Olympic medal and first-ever from the country to become the world champion. She beat Nozomi Okuhara to achieve the title in 2019 after two final heartbreaks. For her achievement in 2019, Sindhu was named BBC Sportswoman of the year and was also honoured with the Padma Bhushan award from the India government in January earlier this year. PV Sindhu at Fit India Talks: 'You Have to Enjoy Sports Instead of Thinking About Winning and Losing'.

Born to Volleyball playing parents, PV Ramana and P Vijaya, Sindhu reportedly started playing badminton since the age of eight. Her father was part of the Indian volleyball team that won the bronze medal at the 1986 Seoul Asian Games. He was bestowed with the Arjuna award in 2000 for his contribution to sports. Sindhu has certainly outlived her father’s achievements and is a role model to many young aspiring youngsters. As she turns 25, take a look at some lesser-known facts about PV Sindhu.

  • Pusarla Venkata Sindhu was born to former Volleyball players PV Ramana and P Vijaya in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh on June 5, 1995

  • She started playing badminton at the age of eight and first started training under Mehboob Ali before joining Pullela Gopichand’s academy

  • In 2013, PV Sindhu became first Indian female shuttler to win a medal at the World Badminton Championships when she clinched a bronze

  • Sindhu was bestowed with the Arjuna award in 2013

  • At the 2016 Rio Olympics, PV Sindhu scripted history by becoming the youngest Indian and first female shuttle to win a silver medal

  • PV Sindhu is also the first Indian shuttler to reach the final of an Olympic event in Badminton

  • Sindhu won India’s first badminton medal at the 2018 Asian Games. Her silver medal was the first badminton medal won by any Indian shuttler at the Asiad

  • In 2018, PV Sindhu became first Indian to win the BWF World Tour Finals Tournament

  • PV Sindhu became the first Indian to win the World Badminton Championships title

  • PV Sindhu is the fourth player after Li Lingwei, Gong Ruina and Zhang Ning to clinch a gold, silver and bronze medal at the World Championships

  • PV Sindhu holds the record of joint-most singles medals at World Championships. She, along with Zhang Ning of China, has five medals each

  • PV Sindhu holds the record of most wins (21) at World Championships since her debut in 2013. Spain’s Carolina Marin is second with 20 wins in that period

  • Sindhu was honoured with the Padma Shri in March 2015 and received the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna award in 2016

At 25, the young shuttler remains India’s biggest hope for an Olympic gold medal in Badminton. Sindhu’s form declined after her World Championship win but the former World No 2 has already qualified for the Olympics and will hope to be in great form when the Games approach next year.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 05, 2020 12:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).